Beet loader



June 6, 1939. A. c. MEHL. 2,161,073

BEET LOADER ATTORNEY.

A. C. MEHL June 6, 1939.

BEET LOADER Filed June 23, 1938 Patented June 6, 1939 UNITED- STATESPATENT oFFicE 6 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in apparatus for loading andharvesting sugar beets.

In the harvesting of sugar beets thelatter are rst pulled by means of rasuitable plow, after which they are topped and laid in piles and arelater loaded onto trucks by men employing suitable shovels. The loadingof the beets onto trucks is very hard work and constitutes the hardestlabor connected with sugar beet culture.

l0 The topping of the sugar beets is an operation that must be performedwith great care and cannot be successfully accomplishedby machinerybecause it requires judgment.

This invention relates to an improved method 16 or system of harvestingsugar beets as well as to an improved apparatus to be used in the meth-In accordance with my method, the beets are rst pulled in the usualmanner and left in rows,

instead of topping and throwing the beets into heaps or "piles, in theusual manner. My imiproved harvesting device is now put into operation.

The harvesting device which forms the subject of this invention consistsof a four wheel chassis having the front and the rear wheels so arrangedthat either end can be used as the front end. Both pair of wheels aredirigible and either pair can be locked so as to serve as the rearwheels and the pair at the opposite end can be attached to a draw bar ofa tractor by a suitable tongue. Extending transversely of the chassisframe is another frame on which is mounted an open conveyor belt of thetype employedl in' connection with potato diggers. This conveyor isdriven by a small gasoline engine and discharges sugar beets onto thelower end of an upwardly and.

- outwardly inclined conveyor that is driven by the same engine as therst conveyor and delivers the beets to a truck trailer that is alsohitched to the draw bar of a tractor. The chassis wheels of the loaderstraddle one row of pulled beets and the transverse conveyor is of suchlength that it covers four rows. Two men follow the machine, each mantopping two rows of beets and delivering them tothe horizontal conveyor,which is so designed that it subjects them to a severe shaking for thepurpose of removing dirt therefrom. The machine has a high strike boardalong the front of the horizontal conveyor so that the toppers do nothave `to employuany care in throwing the beets, as all beets that hitthe strike board drop onto the conveyor. When the truck trailer isfilled with topped beets itis lili` unhitched and replaced by an emptyone, the

.. of the draw bar.

' full one being picked up by a tractor truck or by teams of horses andtransported to the beet dump at the factory or to the place where thebeets are loaded onto freight cars for transportation to the factory.With this system, the ex- 5 pensive automobile trucks are not used inthe fieldl to any considerable extent and this saves them from thesevere strains and wear that necessarily follow operation in the softground of a beet field. 10

Having thus briefly described the system of beet harvesting to whichthis invention relates and explained in a general way the apparatusemployed, the apparatus will now be described in detail and referencefor this purpose will be had 15 to the accompanying drawings in whichthe apparatus has been illustrated and in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view showing the relationship of the trailertruck,the cleaner and loader and the tractor;

Figure 2 is a section taken on line 2-2 Fig. 1;

Figure 3 is a rear elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 1;

Figure 4 is a section taken on line 4-4 Fig. 3;

Figure 5 is a section taken on line 5-5 Fig. 3; 25 and Figure 6 is asection taken on line 6-6 Fig. 1.

In the drawings reference numerals Ill designate the side members of achassis and II designate the axles which are made in the manner 30 ofthe usual automobile front axles and have stub lshafts movably connectedby means of pivots I2.

axles by means of pins I6 and U-bolts I1. Short chains I8 or equivalentmeans may join the end of one of the tongues I5 with the axle, as shownin Fig. 1 for the purpose of holding the wheels 4U I9 in fixed relationto the axle while the other tongue is connected by means of a tensionmember 20 with a draw bar 2| attached to a tractor 22. A trailer truck23 is attached to the other end When the chassis is to travel 45 in theopposite direction chains I8 and 20 are interchanged so that thedirigible wheels will always be at the front end of the chassis.

Extending transversely of the chassis frame and supported on sidemembers Ill are two chan- 50 nel bars 24 which are connected at theirends by transverse bars 25. A conveyor frame comprising parallelsideimembers 26 connected by suitable transvrse frame members 21 issupported from frame members 24 by suitable angle iron 55 brackets 28.Frame members 26 are provided adf` jacent each end with bearings 29 inwhich are journailed shafts 30. 'I'he bearings atl the .outer end of theconveyor frame are slidably connected for the purpose of adjustingV thetension ofthe link conveyor 3| which.has been shown -as of theconstruction ordinarily employed in connec- 4a support consisting ofuprights 34 connected near their upper ends by a bar and joined to thesides 24 by diagonal braces 36. An upwardly inclined conveyor comprisinglside `members 31 is supported' on the transverse bar 35 and is providedat its lower end with a shaft 33 that rotates in bearings carried by thesides 31 and also in bearings carried by the frame members 24. Shaft 33forms a pivotal connection between the conveyor frame members 31 and thetransverse frame members 24 which permits the conveyor to be adjustedwith respect to its vertical inclination. Shaft 33 carries a roller thatserves to drive ra conveyor belt 33 which passes aroundv a similarroller 40 mounted for rotation in adjustable bearings 4| 'attached tothe top of the sides 31. A

plurality of transverse rollers 42 serves to support the conveyor beltwhich is provided with transverse cleats 43. Slides 44 keep the beetsfrom falling oifrom the sides of the conveyor. Since the lower roller isthe power driven one, the lower side of the conveyor belt will be undertension instead of the upper, as would be the case if the upper, rollerwas power driven. It will be noted that the lower end of the upwardlyinclined con- -veyor is positioned so as to receive beets from thecleaner conveyor. Sides v26 are provided with loops 45 that serve tosupport vthe bang board'46, which can be moved from one side to theother .as the direction of movement of the loader is changed.

The two conveyors are arranged to form a transversely balanced structureand are driven from an internal combustion engine 41 whose shaft 48carries a pulley 49. A counter shaft 50 is mounted in a suitable bearingand has a belt pulley 5I on one side of the bearing and a spur pinion 52on the other side. A belt 53 connects pulleys 49 and 5I and cooperatingwith the belt is a tightener pulley 54 that is attached to one end oflever 55 that is movable about the pivot 56. Some suitable means such asthat designated by reference numeral 1 serves to hold the belt tightenerin adjusted position. Another counter shaft 5811s mounted for rotationin a suitable bearing and carries a spur gear 59 that meshes with thepinion 52 and on the other end a sprocket wheel that transmits power tothe. two sprocket wheels 60 and -6I by means of a sprocket chain 62. Inactual practice there is ay speed reduction of 1 to 10 between shaft 58and shaft`43. 'I'he transmission is enclosed 'in a suitable housing whenin use so as to be protected from dust and dirt.

The operation of the device is as follows:

'I'he beets are rst pulled and left in rows. The loader and the trucktrailer are hitched to a the outside of the eld by the tractor.`

tractor and the parts adjusted so 'that wheels |s` straddle a row, therebeing three rows outside of the outer wheel I9 so that the two topperscan top four rows. The apparatus is pulled over the field from one endto the other. At each end of the eld the tractor is removed and hitchedto the tongue at the other end of the loader and the latter is shiftedfour rows. The trailer truck is also reversed and the assembly nowtravels in the opposite direction. The strike board is also removed tothe other side' of the cleaner conveyor. 'I'he toppers throw the beetsagainst the strike board and they drop ontothe cleaner conveyor and aresubjected to violent agitation, thereby loosening any adherent dirt thatfalls through the conveyor and the. clean topped beets are delivered tothe lower end of the inclined conveyor and are delivered by it to thetrailer truck. When the truck body is full the trailer truck is replacedby an empty one. The reversibility of the loader makes it convenient towork back and forth along one side of the iield and the tractor and thetrailer truck are always traveling on cleaned ground.

This apparatus is of simple and substantial construction and makes itpossible for two men to top, atleast as many beets per unit of time asbefore, and eliminates the heavy work of shoveling the beets intotrucks. 'I'his method also makes it unnecessary to use the automobiletruck in the field where it would be subjected to exceedingly heavy weardue to the soft ground. When the trailer truck is full, it can be pulledto The speciilc embodiment shown is illustrative only and equivalentelements of specifically different construction can be substitutedwherever desired.

Having described the invention what is claimed as new is:

1. A beet cleaner and loader comprising in combination, a chassis havinga pair of wheels at each end, an open link conveyor supported on thechassis, in horizontal position, and extending transversely thereof theconveyor being open at its rear and provided with a bang board at itsfront side, means for operating the conveyor, means for shaking theconveyor to eiect the cleaning of beets deposited thereon, a secondconveyor, extending in the same general direction as `the rst andupwardly and outwardly inclined,

thelower end of the second conveyor being positioned to receive beetsdischarged from the iirst conveyor the parts being arranged to form atransversely balanced structure, and means .intercorinecting the twoconveyors to effect simultaneous operation.

2. A beet cleaner and loader comprising, in combination, achassis-frame, a pair of wheels supporting each end, a conveyor framesupported ,in horizontal position on the chassis frame and extendingtransversely thereof, an endless open link conveyor uoperativelyassociated with the frame, means for operating the conveyor, means forshaking the conveyor while it operates to eiect the cleaning of beetssupported thereon, the conveyor being open at its rear and provided witha bang board along its front side, a second conveyor supported by thechassis, and extending in the same general direction as the firstconveyor, the second conveyor being upwardly and outwardly inclined, thelower end of the second conveyor being positioned to receive beets :fromthe rst conveyor, raise them and deposit them in a vehicle body theconveyors being arranged to provide a transversely balanced strucveyorsupported on the last mentioned frame and veyor carried by the extendinglaterally beyond the corresponding end of the supporting frame, saidconveyor being open at the rear and provided with a bang board at itsfront side, an elevating and loading consupporting frame, said conveyorextending outwardly and upwardly, the lower end being positioned toreceive beets from the transverse conveyor, the parts being arranged toprovide a transversely balanced structure, and means comprising a primemover positioned on the vehicle for simultaneously operating bothconveyors.

4. A beet loader comprising, in combination, a vehicle having anelongated chassis frame provided at each end with a pair of wheels, asupporting frame extending transversely of the chassis frame andsupported by the latter, a conveyor frame positioned above thesupporting frame and attached thereto, the conveyor-frame beingsubstantially horizontal and projects laterally of the chassis frame onone side thereof, a conveyor belt associated with the conveyor frame,said conveyor being open at its rear and provided with a bang board onits front side, an elevating conveyor carried by the supporting frame,said elevating conveyor being upwardly and outwardly ranging, the lowerlend of the elevating conveyor being positioned to receive beets from thetransverse conveyor, power transmission means interconnecting the twoconveyors for simultaneous movement the parts being arranged to providea transversely balanced structur an internal combustion engine carriedby the vehicle and means for driving the power transmittingmeans fromthe engine.

5. A beet loader comprising, in combination, a vehicle having anelongated chassis frame provided at each end with a pair of wheels, asup- ,porting frame extending transversely of the chassis frame andsupported by the latter, a

, movement,

conveyor frame positioned above the supporting frame and attachedthereto, the conveyor frame being substantially horizontal and projectslaterally of the chassis frame on one side thereof, la conveyor beltassociated with the conveyor frame, said` conveyorbeing open at its rearand provided with a bang board at its iront side, an lelevating conveyorcarried by the supporting frame,said elevating conveyor being upwardlyand outwardly ranging, the lower end of the elevating conveyor beingpositioned to receive beets ,from the transverse conveyor, the partsbeing arranged to provide a transversely baianced structure, powertransmission means interconnecting thetwo conveyors for simultaneousmovement, an internal ombustion engine carried by the vehicle, means fordriving the power transmitting meansfrom the engine, said last meanscomprising a releasable transmission mechanism and means for renderingthe same operative or inoperative at will.

6. A beet loader comprising, in combination, a vehicle having anelongated chassis frame provided at each end with a pair of wheels, asupporting frame extending transversely of the chassis frame andsupported by the latter, a conveyor frame positioned above thesupporting frame and attached thereto, the conveyor frame beingsubstantially horizontal and projects laterally of the chassis frame onone side thereof. a conveyor belt associated with the conveyor frame,said conveyor being open at its rear and provided with a bang board atits front side, an elevating conveyor carried by the supporting frame,said elevating conveyor beingA upwardly and outwardly ranging, the lowerend of the elevating conveyor being positioned to receive beets from thetransverse conveyor, the parts being arranged to .provide a transversely4balanced structure, power transmission means interconnecting the twoconveyors for simultaneous an internal combustion engine carried by thevehicle, means for transmitting power from the engine to the powertransmitting means which interconnects the conveyor, and means forloosening and tightening the beit to stop and start the conveyors.

ANOS C. MEHL.

